Find Legal Topics > Law Firm Laws > Attorney Law Firms

Attorney Law Firms


What is an Attorney Law Firms?

Attorney law firms are business organizations formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary services rendered by attorney law firms are to advise clients (business entities or individuals) about their legal responsibilities and rights. This information ultimately illuminates the clients’ legal future. If, after delivering legal information, a client wishes to engage in a legal suit, attorney law firms will tangibly represent the client in a formal trial.  Attorney law firms represent their clients in either criminal or civil cases. Firms help clients with an assortment of legal issues, including business transactions, lawsuits (defending or prosecuting), licenses/deeds etc. 

Attorney law firms may be organized in a number of ways. The structure of these organizations is dependent on the firm’s jurisdiction and the type of law it practices. Attorney law firms may be organized in the following ways: 

• General Partnership: Under this development, attorney law firms equally share liability and ownership

• Sole Proprietorship: Under this development, an individual lawyer acts as the owner of the firm. As a result, this individual is responsible for the firm’s profit, loss and liability. 

• Professional Corporations: This type of attorney law firms formation issues stock to individual lawyers in a similar fashion to a business corporation

• Limited Liability Company: Law firms of this formation offer membership to its individual lawyers. As “members” lawyers are not directly liable to third party creditors.

• Professional Association: Attorney law firms of this structure operate like a limited liability company or a professional corporation

• Limited Liability Partnership: Under this development, attorneys are partners with attorneys, but no partner is liable to any creditor of the firm nor is any partner liable for negligence of any other attorney. These types of attorney law firms are taxed as a partnership but enjoy the liability protections of a corporation. 

Contacting Attorney Law Firms:

If you are facing legal troubles of any kind, you should contact attorney law firms in your area. Contacting attorney law firms is highly suggested if you have questions or concerns over any legal matter that may affect your life. If you need help constructing a business transaction, if you have been injured as a result of someone else’s negligence, or if you are involved in a series car wreck, you probably should contact an attorney law firm. 

Attorney law firms are a very broad term. Every jurisdiction in this nation contains numerous attorney law firms; each entity specializes in a distinct area of law. So, for instance, if you are charged with a felony and need representation you must contact criminal attorney law firms in your area. To simplify this, you should match the attorney law firm’s specialty with your specific charges or the claims you wish to file. So, if you are a prosecuting someone for fraud, you should hire a fraud attorney. 

You will not need to contact attorney law firms if you are not confused about the law or are facing legal problems. However, if you would like to speak to a legal professional concerning something in your life, you must contact attorney law firms in your area. 

Attorney law firms will operate under different payment schedules depending on the type of law they practice. For example, in most cases, civil law attorneys, including personal injury lawyers, slip and fall lawyers will not charge for preliminary meetings or consultations. These types of lawyers do not charge for preliminary meetings because they operate under contingency fees—they only take cases that they think they can win because they only receive money if a settlement is secured. 

Finding Attorney Law Firms:

If you are facing a legal predicament and need legal representation, you should follow these steps to contact an attorney law firm in your area: 

To find suitable attorney law firms in your area, you must first conduct a geo-specific Internet search via a search engine, such as GOOGLE. To make the search geo-specific, you should click on the “maps” tab and type-in “attorney law firms” and the search engine will provide you with the attorney law firms in your area. Remember, attorney law firms are broad terms, so a search will not prove beneficial unless you specify the inquiry. To narrow your search type-in the area of specialty your legal matter requires. For example, if you are involved in a slip and fall accident and would like to file a legal suit, you must contact a personal injury or slip and fall attorney in your area. 

Internet searches—by accessing GOOGLE or other search engines —allow you to amass a list of attorney law firms in your region. Once you have collected a list of prospective attorney law firms in your area, you should cross-reference each organization by contacting your state’s BAR association, the respective firms’ website and available reviews past clients. This information will help you evaluate a prospective attorney law firms’ skills and credentials. If your case is multifaceted or crucial to your future, you should review as much information as possible. This information illuminates a firm’s collection of lawyers and more specifically, each lawyer’s reputability, educational background, experience and overall skill set. 

After accomplishing the above steps, you will have a better understanding for the types of attorney law firms in your area. Additionally, you should seek advice from family and friends who have been involved with similar legal predicaments in the past.

Attorney Law Firms and their Fees:

Attorney law firms’ fees are dependent on your legal situation. In general, criminal attorney law firms operate under one of the following payment schedules: hourly, retainer or flat fees. Hourly fees are self-explanatory: attorney law firms charge hourly for services rendered. In turn, a flat fee requires you to pay a lump sum before services are rendered. Additionally, attorney law firms may require you to pay a retainer before services are rendered. A retainer serves as an escrow account; under this schedule, you place a flat fee before the attorney works on your matter. The funds placed in escrow are then removed as services rendered. Lastly, legal professionals in attorney law firms may charge a contingency fee. As mentioned earlier, these fees are most common for civil attorney law firms. Under a contingency platform, a legal professional will only charge for services rendered if a settlement is attained. 

Related Topics